this is bbc news the headlines at 8pm. nearly 18 million people in london and south—east england move into stricter tier 4 restrictions from midnight — people must stay at home, and non—essential shops have to close. for those in tier 4 — it means the relaxation of rules at christmas has been scrapped — and reduced to one day, the 25th, for the rest of england. we must be realistic. we are sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them in the future christmases. the new restrictions are due to a spike in cases — that's being blamed

on a fast—spreading new variant of the disease. the whole of wales is to be placed under lockdown from midnight, with festive rules cancelled for all but christmas day. scotland reduces the five—day festive window for mixing with other households indoors to just christmas day itself — and imposes a "strict travel ban" between itself and the rest of the uk. borisjohnson has announced a new tougher level of coronavirus restriction in england after scientists said a mutation of covid—19 was spreading rapidly in london, the south east and east of the country. the variant is said to be much more contagious but doesn't cause more serious illness. from midnight tonight, tier 4 restrictions will apply in all current tier 3 areas

in the south east including london, kent, buckinghamshire, berkshire, and hertfordshire. that's more than 17 million people. in this new tier, a stay at home order will be issued to residents — except for those travelling to work or for education. there will be no christmas bubbles. social mixing will be restricted to meeting one other person in an open public space. non—essential shops will close, along with personal services such as gyms, beauty salons and hairdressers. no—one should enter or leave a tier 4 area. and there are also changes to the advice for those living in tiers 1 to 3 in england. the so—called christmas bubbles will be restricted to just christmas day. the advice is to remain local and not to travel internationally. our political editor, laura kuennsberg has the full story. another twist in 2020's terrible karma — the virus is outpacing politicians' and the public‘s attempt to get hold of itjust at the time of year when journeys

are meant to bring us together. from midnight, travel from london's paddington or anywhere in the south—east will be banned, the government cancelling families' christmas plans. this couple have already decided not to see family. it was never a good idea tojust say, we shouldn't have any restrictions over a short period. it's not like covid is going to take a break or anything like that, so itjust made no sense whatsoever and it's messing with people's minds. this man from south london resolved his big family won't get together. i think i'm choosing to be wise and say, look, let's celebrate later on next year. i think the consequences of actually mingling are just too great. this man, a teacher, won't see his family from italy now either. it's a very annoying situation, but i can't see it getting better because they're talking about now zone 4, which is even stricter. i can't understand what's stricter than this. the prime minister pushed to take action he decided

against earlier this week. it is with a very heavy heart i must tell you we cannot continue with christmas as planned. in england, those living in tier 4 areas should not mix with anyone outside their own household at christmas, though support bubbles will remain in place for those at particular risk of loneliness or isolation. we have a particularly fast—moving problem with increased numbers in the area going into tier 4 but a generalised increase across the country. there were calls for you to drop the plans for christmas last week just a few days ago but, on wednesday, you told me and our viewers it would be inhuman to change the plans, and now that's exactly what you've done. aren't there millions of people whose plans have just been torn up entitled to feel that you just left this too late? we of course bitterly regret the changes that are necessary but, alas, when the facts change,

you have to change your approach, and the briefing that i had yesterday about this mutation of the virus, particularly about the speed of transmission, was not possible to ignore. professor whitty, if someone is packing a bag right now, listening to or watching this, trying to leave the south—east by midnight tonight, what should they do? my short answer would be, please unpack it at this stage. uk opposition leaders had already called for a rethink. i'm really frustrated because i raised this with the prime minister on wednesday, and he dismissed that and went on to tell people to have a merry little christmas, only three days later to rip up their plans, and i think the british public‘s entitled to more decisive leadership than that. they're getting confusion where they need certainty. another upset, another change of heart in number 10. after a year many of us would rather forget, a christmas that may be remembered for all the wrong reasons too.

earlier our political correspondent, nick eardley. he says the new restrictions comes after the government looked at fresh data on the pandemic in the past few days. it in the past few days. was only a few days ago that we re it was only a few days ago that we were talking about yes, a much stricter message when it came to christmas, urging people not to travel, but the rules being kept in place. something has changed in the last 2a hours, which is the data that ministers are getting is extremely concerning. it has worried them and it has worried the scientific advisers who have hastily arranged a meeting last night and decided that action had to be taken. it was decided this morning that that would mean this new tier 4 in england, something that boris johnson was desperate to avoid, which some ministers had completely dismissed as a prospect but which clearly now is something they think

is necessary. i think borisjohnson will take a lot of political criticism for this because it was on wednesday that he was accusing others of wanting to cancel christmas, saying it would be inhuman, as you had in laura's piece that, to cancel christmas. that is effectively what has happened to many people in tier 4 and the millions of people in england it has been massively curtailed to one day. the defence ministers will make is that when size changes, they have to change their minds to. but quite clearly we have travelled a long way in 72 hours and i think what happened today will still be a big surprise to many people. what exactly surprise to many people. what exa ctly d oes surprise to many people. what exactly does tier 4 mean for those of us who will be in it from midnight tonight? it is not far off a lockdown england saw last month. you are being urged to stay at home, you will be allowed to go out for exercise, you won't be able to meet ina group exercise, you won't be able to meet in a group of friends, the rule of six is abolished, you can only meet

one other person from outside your household. supermarkets will stay open so for anyone who is panicking that i have not bought christmas dinner, that can still be done, but if you have not finished your christmas shopping, you are in trouble because nonessential shops will close from midnight tonight. it isa will close from midnight tonight. it is a huge change, really significant moment, and all those restaurants and hospitality were already closed, it effectively means for many people, society will be all but shut down over the christmas period. you can't form christmas bubbles, that has gone in tier 4, notjust in england, a massive parts of scotland, people are being told they area scotland, people are being told they are a lockdown effectively from boxing day, in wales lockdown is coming tonight, this is a big moment in the pandemic for the uk. we can speak now to alison mcgovern, labour mp for wirral south which is in tier 2. your reaction to what the government

has done today. i know that people will be really, really disappointed, andi will be really, really disappointed, and i think that people have been incredibly tolerant of what the government had needed to do throughout this pandemic. i think the problem is that we keep seeing the problem is that we keep seeing the conservative government make the same mistake time and again where they are forced into acting, rather than taking steps as soon as that information is available. and in this case we know that other people we re this case we know that other people were seeing this issue in the data, were seeing this issue in the data, we knew about this new strain before because keir starmer did raise it on wednesday. so, ithink because keir starmer did raise it on wednesday. so, i think people are being tolerant throughout this crisis but the disappointment that they will face now and the challenge that many people will face in practical terms, i think, that many people will face in practicalterms, ithink, really, the government have got to look at what has happened here and, you know, ask why only on wednesday borisjohnson was effectively mocking keir starmerfor borisjohnson was effectively mocking keir starmer for the thing

that he has himself done today. can you understand the prime minister when he argues that, look, the information i had changed between wednesday and today. it is only the last couple of days that the information, the data has been coming in on this particular new variant. well, i doubt because we have known about the new strain for at least a week and as ijust mentioned, keir starmer raise this on wednesday, so i don't really accept that. we do need to take steps to stop this deadly virus but what we need is for the government to learn from its mistakes and not continually make the same error again and again because i think people will rightly be frustrated, given everything they have had to put up with this year. do you think the government is doing the right thing in moving certain areas and leaving other areas in tiers one to three? i think we have to take all

possible steps to stabilise because this is an absolutely deadly virus. i think that the changes that we have seen and the mix messages make it harder, so i think we do need simple, clear messages, and, you know, in my own experience in merseyside, we've had challenge getting clear messages across with areas being moved around so i think that there are problems. the most important thing is that we get control of the virus and i think there are other things the government needs to do, whether that is getting more mass testing to make sure that we can understand what is going on with the virus or getting the tracing system properly working and out of the hands of people who are not able to do it properly and in the hands of public health officials. i think there is more of a government can do to make this better but the most thing —— important thing is that we have clear messages. do you think we need

a stricter lockdown? would that send a stricter lockdown? would that send a clearer message, a wider structure lockdown for the country? we need to ta ke lockdown for the country? we need to take the steps you need to get to this virus under control and enhancement that has made today will be difficult for people but it is important because it is about saving lives and controlling virus. i think that we should follow the data and ifi that we should follow the data and if i may say, that is exactly what keir starmer was suggesting on wednesday, that we had to look at the information that was coming forward about what is happening with this virus. and, you know, ithink that government can be even more transparent about that. i think it will help build trust and confidence in them. it is frustrating, if i may say, that we had all that kind of political offices cayshun from boris johnson in the house of commons on wednesday, only to get to this point today and it does feel like the government are making the same mistake again and again. .

the latest government figures on coronavirus show there were 27,052 cases in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new infections reported per day in the last week is now 24,752. 534 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, there were 436 deaths per day, bringing the total number of deaths across the uk to 67,075. nicola sturgeon has announced tighter festive restrictions for scotland, reducing a five—day window for mixing with other households indoors to just christmas day itself. let's hear what scotland's first minister had to say earlier. in order to reduce the risk of more of this strain being imported into scotland, we intend to maintain a strict travel ban between scotland and the rest of the uk. unfortunately, and i am genuinely sorry about this,

that ban will remain in place right throughout the festive period. we simply cannot risk more of this new strain entering the country if we can possibly avoid it. that means people from scotland not visiting other parts of the uk and vice versa, cross—border travel for all but the most essential purposes is not permitted. we're also asking police scotland and transport operators to consider how the enforcement of this can be strengthened in the period ahead although, of course, how that is done is an operational matter for the chief constable. we'll also be reviewing urgently over the next day or so the position on international travel, and i will update on that early next week, but, in the meantime, my strong advice continues to be against nonessential foreign travel. thirdly, we have already advised that, where possible, people should celebrate christmas at home in their own household and meet with others outdoors only. the five—day flexibility

from the 23rd to the 27th of december was planned to recognise the impact of loneliness and the difficulty i know we all feel in leaving loved ones alone over christmas. however, earlier this week, we advised that people should meet indoors with other households if at all on no more than one day over the five—day period. given the concern we now have about this new strain, we now intend to change the law to allow indoor mixing in a bubble on christmas day only from midnight on christmas day to midnight going into boxing day. in large parts of england, as the prime minister has just announced, that will not even be allowed. we will allow christmas day to go ahead but, as we have said from the start, only use this flexibility if you really truly need to. this new strain makes that message all the more important.

our advice is still not to meet indoors, even on christmas day, with other households if you can possibly avoid it. if you had people travelling to join you for christmas from elsewhere in the uk, that will no longer be permitted. equally, it will no longer be permitted for any of us to travel to anywhere in the rest of the uk for christmas. we simply cannot take the risk of this strain travelling from different parts of the uk. let's take a look at those restrictions in more details. the whole country will be moved into the tightest level of restrictions from boxing day. the first minister has introduced a travel ban for people coming into mainland scotland. and the relation of the christmas rules in scotland will be limited to christmas day online. and for schools, the holiday period will be extended to the 11th january but it will online learning only to the 18th january,

apart from children of key workers. as scotland reporter explained more. where scotland is is considerably —— nicola sturgeon repeated the prime minister's assertion that the new variant is 70% more transmissible than the old variant. there are only i7, 17 confirmed cases in scotland but since we have heard that, she has been cautioning that actually reaching that type of sequencing, figuring out which strain is spreading takes quite a long time so there are some parts of scotland where there is actually an uptake in the virus and overall the figures for scotland having been coming down are starting to come up and the suspicion is the new variant is here

in more significant numbers already so in more significant numbers already so that is the concern. whether or not either the scottish authorities of the authorities elsewhere in the uk can actually stop it, i don't think they or anyone else knows at this stage but as you outlined there, some pretty tough measures coming in here in scotland to try and do so. not only reducing that five day window for indoor mixing over christmas to just christmas day itself, the first minister said all along even though that is the advice, she really thinks that people should be more cautious and not do that, unless it is absolutely essential that they need to. so, thatis essential that they need to. so, that is happening, but also, this lockdown effectively beginning on boxing day for three weeks, and as nick earley were saying the three minutes ago, what a blow to places —— business that is, because you are talking about the boxing day sales, you are talking about nonessential retail closing, jim is closing, hairdressers closing, and so on, so,

a huge economic blow coming down the line, and of course there has been some reaction to that. we have heard from the leader of the labour party in scotland, richard lennon, richard leonard asked for the detail as to what lies behind this. he says evidence needs to be published, we need transparency, openness, there needs to be a substantial rise in testing as well. otherwise, he said there won't just testing as well. otherwise, he said there won'tjust be disappointment, people might not obey the rules. wales is also introducing tighter restrictions, with the whole country moving into lockdown from midnight. here's first minister mark drakeford. we've had new information shared with us today about the new variant and its seriousness and, as a result, as a cabinet, we have decided to bring forward to tonight the restrictions that were already planned for immediately after christmas and, over the christmas period itself, what would have been five days of relaxation are being collapsed simply into one day — christmas day itself. i know you were worried about that

christmas period potentially being a super spreader event. are you still comfortable with that, even though it's just one day of relaxation? we know that there's more than one form of harm from coronavirus — there will be people who are lonely, who are isolated, who will have made plans for christmas day itself and, provided people go about it all carefully and responsibly, i think that is something we can accommodate, despite the seriousness of the situation we face. what about support for businesses then that will have to close from midnight? you've already announced a package, but will that be accelerated in light of the restrictions being accelerated? we're doing our best to bring it forward as fast as we can with our colleagues in local government, and i've said today that any extra help that is made available to businesses in england, because of the prime minister's announcement, money that comes to wales because of that, all of that will be made available to businesses here in wales.

sport and for a full roundup, from the bbc sport centre, here's olly foster. good evening. liverpool will be top of the table at christmas. the champions set a club record this afternoon, the 7—0 victory at crystal palace was their biggest away win in the top division. nick parrott reports. liverpool's premier league away form this season has been pulled by their high standards, just one when, thrashed by aston villa and forging to get a point against fulham last weekend. many questioned jurgen klopp winning coach of the year award but his decision today it couldn't be questioned afterjust two minutes. and his persistence in picking sadio mane paid off with the end ofan picking sadio mane paid off with the end of an eight game goal rant. this has been a good season for roberto firmino to but rejuvenated by his mid week winner against tottenham,

the brazilian was in fine form. 12 with andrew robertson and the result of the match was beyond doubt before half—time. jordan henderson hadn't scored this season but with finish like this, it is a prize in the liverpool captain doesn't get more. few tea ms liverpool captain doesn't get more. few teams can live with the champions counterattacking pace and it led to another goal for roberto firmino. after coming off the bench to provide that, micellar —— mohammed sala scored twice.|j to provide that, micellar —— mohammed sala scored twice. i know the boys can score nice goals. it was nice. in germany, we say it is better to when 7—i was nice. in germany, we say it is better to when 7—1 and that is nice as well. liverpool will be tell of the table for christmas for a third year running and hoping they will still be there in may. arsenal's poor form continues, they went down 2—1 at everton,

their fourth defeat in five. all the goals came in the first half, nicholas pepe had equalised from the spot for the gunners after a rob holding own goal gave everton the lead, butjerry mina got the winner for the home side in first half injury time time, that moves them up to 2nd. arsenal haven't won a league game since the ist november. they remain in 15th. the way the boys reacted in the dressing room, it tells me that they have that belief because they know what they are doing, they play on the page and the way they are losing football matches, but obviously when you lose that many in a row, for different reasons, it hurts a lot. southampton could have gone second with a win but lost 1—0 to manchester city who are now sixth, a point behind the saints. raheem sterling with the only goal, set up by kevin de bruyne in the first 20 minutes. newcastle and fulham kicked off at eight o'clock. a point will see fulham move out

of the relegation zone, newcastle can move into the top half of the table with a win but it is goalless at the moment. rangers came from a goal down to win 3—1 at home to motherwell. they've played three games more than celtic but are 16 points clear at the top. rugby union's champions cup has been hit by postponements because of covid outbreaks at four clubs this weekend, gloucester celebrated a dramatic win over ulster. 3 points behind george barton came on as a replacement in the 77th minute and scored this winning try in front of 2,000 delighted fans. they win 38—34 ulster are now close to elimination after two losses from two. northampton saints lost for the 12th time in a row as the premiership's bottom side were beaten 35—19 by leinster. jamison gibson—park secured the a bonus point for the 2018 champions who have two wins from two

and are on course for the knockouts. that's all the sport for now. the retail and hospitality sectors have faced unprecedented the planned relaxation of covert roles has been relaxed. —— has been changed. many people had planned their christmas journeys and rail and coach operators have said they will offer refunds on planned christmas travel. at travel corresponding joins me now. good news for those who had travel plans and have to change their plans this late in the day? yes, plenty people will be frustrated and want to know what happens to those tickets. what we have been told by the rail delivery group that represents rail

operators is that you can either get a free refund, you can have a travel voucher or rebook for free. not every single ticket will be able to have a refund, depends on the type of ticket you have got, you need to speak to your operator to see what they are offering. national express, who run coach services, have said that people unable to travel because of tea rful that people unable to travel because of tearful restrictions, they will either be able to have a free amendment or get a full refund. we have been told there are restrictions on travelling to and from various parts of the country, how are those restrictions going to be implemented, how are we going to know whether people can or can't, who is going to stop them? the operators have made it very clear that there staff are not there to enforce rules, they are there to make sure you have a covid safe journey. but they are not there to enforce this particular rule. that is thejob of enforce this particular rule. that is the job of the police and in fact we did have something earlier today

from the police. they were saying that it from the police. they were saying thatitis from the police. they were saying that it is clear that there is a picture how this will be enforced, the home office are discussing it with the police about what measures will be in place to make sure the rules are kept. thank you very much indeed. the retail and hospitality sectors have faced unprecedented challenges this year because of the pandemic. today's announcement that all non—essential shops will have to close in areas moving into tier 4 will be a further blow to retailers in the last weekend before christmas. our business correspondent, katy austin, reports. there were plenty of shoppers out and about on london's oxford street this afternoon but all nonessential stores will have to close after today under tier 4. for this small men's clothes shop in kent, it's a huge blow. it's devastating, awful. we've got another five days, i think, of trading up to christmas when we would take a lot of money, potentially, and we won't take a penny. this weekend, the last before

christmas, would normally be one of the busiest, if not the busiest, weekend of the year for retailers. just today, more areas of england had moved into the tier 3 level of restrictions, meaning shops staying open while hospitality and entertainment venues closed apart from takeaways. the retailers' organisation said even tighter restrictions would have severe consequences. previous lockdowns have meant that store sales have fallen by between £1.5—2 billion a week, and that obviously is going to be even greater at this time of year, so it's vital that future support is targeted to those businesses by government that have been most affected. the cbi business group said this afternoon it's right the government takes necessary steps to protect public health but said today's news would be a real kick in the teeth for many businesses already struggling badly.

katy austin, bbc news. now, it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. some parts of the uk have had no shortage of rain. there is more rain in the forecast. in the short term, that rain comes in the form of showers which continue through tonight, some heavy, some thundery,. it's stays windy so temperatures won't fall far. tomorrow, another sunshine and showers day. the further east you are, not too many showers, the further west, there will be plenty. the showers will thin out as we get into the afternoon with more dry weather, although heavy downpours returned and all that i am western scotland later. we could see gas of up to 50 mph in the exposed parts of scotland

—— western scotland. there will be rain in places as we start the week. it turns dry as the week wears on but it will also turn colder in time for christmas. this is bbc news. the headlines... nearly 18 million people in london and southeast england move into stricter tear four restrictions from midnight. people must stay at home and nonessential shops have to close. for those in tier 4, the relaxation of rules and christmas has been scrapped and reduced to one day for the rest of england. we must be realistic. we're sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them at future christmases.

new restrictions are